Emirates boosts Saudi flights for Ramadan

Dubai, June 27, 2012

Dubai's national carrier Emirates has announced that it will add 73 additional flights to and from Saudi Arabia during Ramadan, adding to its already robust service schedule, starting from July 20.

Jeddah and Madinah Al Munawarrah will benefit from the extra services, put in place to serve the large number of passengers travelling to the Kingdom for religious based travel, a statement from Emirates said. The extra services will be in operation till September 1.

Ahmed Khoory, senior vice president, commercial operations Gulf, Middle East and Iran, said: “We expect travel to the Kingdom to increase significantly during the month of Ramadan in line with the annual movement of pilgrims. To effectively cater to this increased demand we have added extra services giving our passengers more flight options and easing the flow of traffic.”

A total of 59 additional flights will operate to and from Jeddah throughout Ramadan, with Madinah Al Munawarrah receiving 14 extra services during the same time period.

“There is a high demand for travel to the Kingdom from across our network given our convenient and frequent flight options. With a growing fleet of 175 aircraft we are fortunate to have the flexibility required to adjust our schedules and accommodate this increased traffic flow,” added Khoory.

The additional flights will be serviced by a mixture of Boeing 777s and A330 aircraft, in a three class configuration. Emirates currently operates to four gateways in Saudi Arabia including; Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam and Madinah al Munawarah.

The airline received permission from the Saudi Authorities to operate these flights for Umrah passengers. – TradeArabia News Service